"The month of June isn’t just for big news and demo conferences, as Japan is ready to get quite a few big software releases, one of which is a sequel in a series that consistently sells out during its first few days on shelves." -PlayStation LifeStyle
Sega's prominent tennis sim just couldn't be beat. And then vanished without a trace. Why?
Answer: Sega.
You could change the name of the game in the title that was awesome in its day, could still be around today because of its fun factor with a remake, remaster or sequel, that's in their huge back catalog, that's no longer being produced as a franchise. And the answer would still be the same: Sega.
As much as I love their games and their spunky attitude. That Sega no longer exists that I grew up with. The current company is a mere shadow of its former self with only a few moments of grandeur. Which is why owning their previous consoles like Dreamcast, is a necessary thing if you want to continue playing games like Virtua Tennis. The reason why I have two of them just in case one stops working. And of course emulation on the go. Wink. Dreams do come in red.
Both Virtua Tennis and Top Spin have gone. It’s annoying for tennis game players.
Yeah....all 5 of them. Obviously, game budgets now outweigh profit for what essentially boils down to Pong. I'm not talking about coders but licensing costs. Boxing, golf, etc...all fall in this category where real life athletes far supersede their worth in video games. Same thing occurred to Sony's Playstation All-stars. Sony spent 2 generations helping to cultivate all these 3rd party mascots into recognizable assets but when it came to license them for a game, they didn't want to pay the exorbitant fee. That game's 1 million sales didn't warrant a sequel and I very much doubt ANY tennis game could reach that sales plateau
It’s funny how you’re over the age of 3 and don’t know how to read properly 😅😅 Why the bizarre response?
I couldn’t care less about licensing in a tennis or golf game. I don't need real-life players or locations/tournaments.
Just give me some fun cool characters, some courts/courses in varied gorgeous locations, and use the Virtua Tennis or Everybody’s Golf gameplay. That’s it.
I used to play tennis IRL and in videogames. My 2-cents is that a boring game that was simulating an extremely boring sport, was thrown under the rug, now that the devs can produce more complex and interesting games.
It's like the tetris-like games and games like space-invaders, that stopped being produced ... it is because they were good and simple to make in the early days of commercial videogame development but they are just not as interesting as, let's say, an open-world coop arpg ...
GF365: "The US Open is currently underway. It reminds me of the lack of top-notch tennis video games on PS4 and Xbox One. In short: we need a new Virtua Tennis or Top Spin."
Couldn’t agree more. Been too long since I last broke some ankles in a good tennis sim.
I don’t play tennis irl, but these two games series I played the hell out of. Definitely need a new one.
Anna Kornikova’s Smash Court Tennis should have a come back!
Love them bomb blast games
Preferred the top spin series compared to Virtua but since Top Spin 4. Tennis games have been dire and bad. From bad development and junky controls nothing comes close to TS4. Only new Tennis game I've actually enjoyed has been Mario Tennis on the Switch
The Mako Reactor says: “Everything you need to know about getting into the Atelier franchise from best place to start to every new release covered on PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC.”
Excellent article! This franchise is amazing I started around the Vita games and have been playing since. But for the newer releases I have lagged behind in purchasing due to my backlog. This great comprehensive article got my bearings straight thanks!
I always hear good stuff about the Atelier series, but with so many games I didn't feel like actually researching. So this article was a good read, and I may buy Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book in the near future.
Atelier Ryaza is looking like it’s going to be the breakout game for the franchise.
Took long enough for Valkyria Chronicles to make the Greatest Hits line. Game's three years old. I thought they usually made the cut sooner than that?
Yakuza Of the End and Meruru, feel sory for the other games being released in Japan in June,
Yakuza Of the End FTW.
And people say Japanese gaming is dying...